


The Triangle

by senorajade



Category: Football RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-23 15:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3772684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/senorajade/pseuds/senorajade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Formerly "The Confrontation)</p><p>It all starts with a knock at the door. It ends with tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Confrontation

**Author's Note:**

> My first work. Comments would be appreciated!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At 11pm, Cristiano gets a knock at his door.

There was a fierce knock at the door and Cristiano jumped, more confused than frightened. It was – he glanced at the polished grandfather clock – 11 at night. Who could this even be? He had only give his home address to his loved ones and merely a select few teammates. Even for those he hadn’t told, his house was practically invisible with its location. Maybe his forged past as a rapist in Manchester had followed him and the media had come to harass him. Or a deranged old flame started a new, more repulsive rumor.

  
Despite all the wild, intriguing assumptions that stampeded through his head, Cristiano eventually grew bored of them and decided to finally confront the perpetrator, who continued to impatiently beat on his door while he was struck by thought, with the unapologetic intention of telling them to fuc-

  
Pilar Rubio stood in the doorway. Cristiano’s eyes widened but he quickly regained himself and stepped aside for her. She walked in, granting him a warm expression but her icy irises filled him with a particular nervousness. In the foyer, he took in her swollen appearance. The last time he had seen her was months ago on television, just before Sergio announced she was pregnant with their first child. She looked ready to pop, and if what Sergio also told him was true, she was meant to give birth very soon.

  
She stopped examining his home and peered at him, as if she didn’t quite know him. That was sort of accurate; their only connection was Sergio, Cristiano laughed dumbly to himself. But regardless, could he deny her entry?

  
_Oh_ _god_ , _Sergio_ , he thought. His breathe hitched uneasily in his throat as the worst came to him. “Ms. Rubio, is Sergio okay?”

  
Her smile became crooked and her eyes flashed with an unearthed anger at the sound of own surname rather than the beautiful ring of _Ramos_. It wasn’t intentional to upset the mother-to-be, but it was she who decided not to jump to marriage. “It’s Pilar. And oh no, Sergio is quite alright” she stated impatiently, rubbing her bulging stomach as she did. He watched her with implicit disgust. In that stomach there was a part of Sergio that had no piece of Cristiano and it hurt him to think about it.

  
“Well, then, okay. Would you like some water while you are here?” he asked politely. She readjusted her lackluster beam, replaced it with that La Sexta network smile he knew she had perfected over the years. “No thank you, I’m fine” she told him, and as quickly as the TV smile had come, it disappeared. “Cristiano, I know about you and Sergio” she told him flatly and locked eyes with him as she said it. He tried to look at the possible reasons behind the glare and fought not to react to the one biting at him. But not even the considerate Cristiano could deny the information possessed in those scolding orbs and sighed quietly.

  
He knew that she knew. About the secret relationship he swore up and down that he had kept so well-hidden, public displays of affection aside (Hey, they were supposed to hug and kiss each other on the field. They are teammates!). With Sergio’s bad temper and loose lips, it was only time before everything he had ever hoped to hide turned into one telenovela after the next.

  
So he accepted the pregnant Pilar’s anger in stride and didn’t resort to yelling as he so desperately wished he could, simply because he could say nothing in the face of it. Nothing, really, except…

  
“And you have decided that at nearly midnight, it would be the right time to confront me about this?”

  
Pilar scoffed at the response and glared even harder. “You must understand, it’s never easy to just grow a pair when trying to handle these types of abnormalities that life hands you, especially when that abnormality involves a specific pair being driven deep inside your boyfriend behind your back” she snapped. He went stiff and stood silently for a moment. Then, he asked her in a low voice “How long have you even known?”

  
She huffed loudly, making Cristiano’s stomach turn, and seemed as if she was trying to fight back tears. “Since before he and I began dating. Everyone knew of the infamous friendship between Ramos and Ronaldo, but I thought his affections stemmed from how much he admired you. Come to think of, he truly did and still does, but I didn’t… I didn’t think in _this_ way”

  
He nodded out of partial understanding. “Who told you?”

  
“A woman’s intuition is a lot keener than a man’s attempt to be secretive, Cristiano”

  
“ _Jesus_ ”, he muttered and clasped his forehead. He tried to quickly map every way this conversation and its incriminating details would damage their careers. How would the fans react to this fable-like case of blasphemy? All those sponsors throwing him to the waste side. He knew their teammates would support them without second thought but would the higher-ups? Perez or Ancelotti? He couldn’t picture his contract being nulled by Real Madrid, and didn’t even want to consider that happening to Sergio with all his years on the team. Or worst of all, for his lover’s sake, would she deny him the joyous experience of fatherhood? Their unborn child meant the world to Sergio, and for that, he meant the world to Cristiano.

  
“Does he know you’re here?”

  
She shook her head. “He was babysitting my niece. He’s become especially fond in recent times of children and tries at every interval to work his skills” she patted her stomach in reminiscent and giggled lightly “They had fallen asleep watching the Backyardigans”. Cristiano found it in himself to also smile. The mental image of a brawny, meticulously groomed Sergio splayed out carelessly with a worn infant on his chest warmed his heart. “I see”

  
“No, Ronaldo, you don’t. Oh goodness, when I found out about what you two had the nerve to pull, I was so irate. I smashed the window of his Benz! I even wanted to out you as the home wrecker you are because how _dare_ you make a mockery of my relationship”

Cristiano rolled his eyes at how Pilar dared not throw any blame on Sergio. “Why didn’t you then? You had so much time to reveal us and leave him, and live your happy abnormality-free life elsewhere”

  
“ _Because_ , Cristiano, you know as well as I that one can’t help but be in love with him. He has a gravitational pull strong enough to rope you back in, despite the worst of his wrongdoings” she told him simply. Cristiano thought of how true her words were, and frowned. “I love him too” he said in a hush tone.

  
“I’m his girlfriend”

  
“He’s been mine longer” he nearly shouted, and as childish as it sounded when he said it, it was true. Pilar had come three-years too late to intervene in what had been born almost immediately upon Cristiano’s arrival to Real. The moment Sergio smiled at him, he knew quickly what would rear its head. Cristiano could only guess that’s the same spell captured Pilar. Sergio and he had been entwined in this messed up history of theirs long before Sergio knew of her existence, yet alone the length his courtship with her.

Pilar lifted her head stubbornly. “I’m pregnant with his child”

And that was it, her trump card. For all the ways he loved and tried to show love to Sergio, only a woman could top it all off with a child. He looked back the grandfather clock plastered on the wall, its loud ticking ringing in his ears. He was tired – whether it was because of his lover’s tiring girlfriend or the terrible timing, he did not know – and surely would not be able to bear another moment of this argument.

  
He wiped his face once and sighed loudly this time. “Look, Pilar. I have a game tomorrow and I’m too exhausted to continue with..” he gestured wildly “Whatever this is. So please, I’m asking you kindly, just leave”. Pilar smirked defiantly and looked ready for another round, all while Cristiano pretended he wasn’t ready to physically throw this woman out of his home, pregnancy and all. Finally, when his lack of options became apparent, he mustered enough courage to say what he was biting back the moment Pilar told him he that she was aware of the affair.

  
“If..” he paused and clenched his jaw “If you want me to bow out of the picture and leave Sergio alone, I will. You are after all the mother of his future child and girlfriend. You hold more power. We can end this right here and now”

  
She took a moment but eventually nodded, realizing a second later than she should have that this what she had truly wanted to hear the moment she stepped foot in here. Cristiano swore he could see a look of regret on the reporter’s face but dared not point it out. She rubbed her stomach and after a few words – eventually lost in the atmosphere because he lost the nerve to absorb them – she turned on her heel and walked out.

  
The clock soon rung, indicating a new hour and a new day. Real Madrid would be up against Barca later in the afternoon, but he felt like his only rival would be lurking in the stands with her enormous belly, hugged by one of her boyfriend’s jersey. How could there be any chance of scoring against her when the true goal lay within her? Now, Cristiano was really exhausted and couldn’t possibly try to continue this Pilar-esque nonsense and started for his room. At least if she returned, he could fool himself into thinking he was too far and too tired to hear the door.


	2. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cristiano snitches.

Cristiano sat in the dugout, all the way in a corner. He paid little attention to the surrounding foolishness. Hell, he was barely focused while on the field and took a minor verbal lashing from Iker for it. The only thing that managed to capture him was the undergoing disagreement before him. He watched as Marcelo physically struggled to take a bottle of water from Gareth. “Englishman, Englishman!” Marcelo barked “It was mine first!” Gareth bared his teeth and tripped him. He pinned Marcelo with his knee and attempted to pry the bottle but to no avail because even in the face of disadvantage, Marcelo held on for dear life.

“Jesus, why doesn’t one of you just let the shit go?” Cristiano finally asked, his voice quiet and reserved

Neither looked at him but Marcelo told him, “I don’t let go of what’s mine”. Cristiano wished he could agree with the touching sentiment but that would make him a liar. He had been mercilessly pinned by the pregnant belly of Pilar and lost grip of Sergio with one swift, painful argument. He’d felt like he’d much rather vomit than laugh.

A quiet observant took in Cristiano’s loneliness from afar and went over to comfort him with a warm hand. The hand worriedly pressed his shoulder– in a way only one person did – and Cristiano whipped his head up. It was Sergio of course, carelessly beaming at him. Cristiano shook his head. He probably has no damn idea. Damn that biased wench, Pilar!

He sat down beside him, readjusting his arm over his neck until it touched Cristiano’s chest and their knees bumped together. Briefly, the paralyzing anxiety dissipated as Cristiano allowed himself to get absorbed by reverie. He remembered vividly when this wasn’t a problem and he didn’t have to worry. Sergio’s hair was much longer then. Cristiano’s body ached less because he was 6 years younger and a few pounds lighter. Of course in those times, there was no women or babies or bullshit, but just two weeks ago, this simple interaction was a possibility without threat looming over. Now, everything he had was in the hands of a woman he hardly knew.

“Hey” Sergio called, snapping his fingers in his face. Was he really zoned out for that long? “I said, what are you thinking about?” he asked. Cristiano took Sergio’s hand from his neck and placed it on his own lap. Sergio’s eyebrows furrowed and he reached back over to touch Cristiano’s leg. Cristiano gritted his teeth and frowned. He yearned terribly to just shout ‘ _Get a clue_ ’ or ‘ _Do you even know where the hell Pilar was late last night?’_ It was neither the time nor the right words to use with someone so evidently in the dark. Still, the thought didn’t make him go any easier.

“You are going to be a father” he said sharply, like he wanted to slice him.

“Why are you thinking about that?” Sergio laughed as if it meant nothing and Cristiano wondered how much he truly even cared for Pilar, a woman who fell pregnant a little over a year after they met. Cristiano doesn’t place judgement, however, because if he himself produced eggs, he would have probably been pregnant the very week after he met Sergio.

Then, he thought, as his lover, why would Sergio think Cristiano’d be forcibly ignorant about it all? Does he think Cristiano can’t possibly freight about serious subjects? Or be concerned with things that are not about him? Or that he can’t possibly sit and actually _think_? There was no point evaluating Sergio’s view of him. It would take a whole century to determine where Cristiano was, really and truly, in that vast mental landscape,

“Because you’re going to be raising a freaking human being for much of your young life in a matter of weeks or even days?” he responded.

Sergio made a face and waved his hand carelessly. “I know, I know, but do not worry about those things. They are _my_ responsibilities. It may seem crazy, but I promise nothing will change anything” he tried to assure while he toyed with Cristiano’s sleeve, who immediately burst into a fit of laughter the moment the absurd statement was made. Sergio’s face tensed and his eyebrows were drawn, his lips tightly pursed. “What is so funny?” he asked him and pushed his arm away.

“You’re a day late and a dollar short, Sergio. Everything has changed. You need to catch up, _Da-Da_ ”

“Jesus Christ, stop it, Cris. I didn’t act like this when you had Junior!”

The energy in Cristiano’s eyes died and he narrowed them at Sergio. The mention of his son didn’t irk him. The fact that he was even one of the cards up Sergio’s sleeve did. “How low. But in case you forgot, his mother isn’t in the picture. I don’t have anyone to go over to your house at midnight and threaten you for being with me. And I didn’t act like his arrival was no big deal because I thought it wouldn’t _change anything_ ” he mocked Sergio’s ridiculousness “Newsflash: a child isn’t temporary. They are there _forever_. They change _everything_ ”

And with that, he turned around. Sergio would be busy processing everything and would have no idea about what he was hinting at and Cristiano knew this, but before Sergio’s questions could flow, he had took up a spot next to James. Rumor has it, his wife was intimidated by him. At least that would one less Real Madrid WAG down his throat for ‘snatching’ her significant other.

In the locker room, he didn’t even bother changing. He simply grabbed his bag and bee-lined for the exit, leaving with every drop of sweat and every grass stain he accumulated on the field. Of course, destiny would not make the departure that easy because walking in at that same moment was Pilar’s boyfriend and he put his hand up to stop Cris. “Are you seriously leaving like this?” he asked him. Cristiano shrugged carelessly, and some fellow teammates eyed his dirty uniform. As they all quickly began to busy themselves with changing, Sergio shrugged, too. “Look, to be honest, I don’t even care about the uniform thing. I don’t want to talk about that. I just want to know if we are okay or not because today was kind of tense, don’t you think?” Cristiano rubbed his sweaty neck and nodded.

“Yeah, tense” he mumbled

“Do you want…” Sergio eyed him carefully “Ya know, talk?”

“That’s all I’ve wanted to do”

“Then what’s up?”

He inhaled deeply. Sergio’s face grew more unsettled by the moment and he clutched Cristiano’s arms. “Are you okay? Is everything alright with you?” he questioned. _No, Sergio_ , Cristiano thought and shook his head in dismay. Part of him hoped this was all the more extreme because of his own dramatics but an overbearing presence of melancholy made him feel like this was genuinely deep. Cristiano advised they shower in the meantime. Sergio smirked but Cristiano quickly made it known that this wasn’t that type of party. His lover grimaced.

Upon their return, the locker room head count had dwindled dramatically, much to Cristiano’s pleasure. Wet and with only a towel, he pulled Sergio over to a dim corner where one of the locker room’s lights were fading. “Pilar came to my house last night” Cristiano told him. Expectantly, an eyebrow cocked up in suspicion. “Why?”

“I should be asking you that” he remarked, more offensively and accusatory than he meant to be but for God’s sake, the woman knew where he lived! He had a right to be pissed. Sergio shrugged and he looked sad for a brief second before glaring extremely hard. It could challenge Pilar’s any day and Cristiano wished he hadn’t said anything at all. “Does she know?” He gulped and eyed the carpeting before saying just above a whisper, “Yes”

“And what did she say?” he said while focusing on applying lotion. His eyes were low and his jaw tightly clamped. He was even moisturizing aggressively, to the point where some of it hit Cristiano’s leg. He had a knack for detecting the faintest hint of rage underneath all those layers of forced tranquility, and knew Sergio’s silence was a sign of something dangerous boiling. “Sergio, please don’t do anything crazy”

“I asked you what she said, Cristiano” he responded, and Cristiano concluded that he would much rather not be on the receiving end of that danger, so he poured his heart out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Da-Da" - What newborn babes call their fathers


	3. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A man with a plan.

For the umpteenth time, Cristiano Ronaldo pressed play on his phone. Laying uncomfortably on his bed, he had been relentlessly playing and then replaying the same tearful message for nearly an entire hour.

“ _Cristiano, this is Pilar. I know I shouldn’t be asking you this, but I have a serious favor. I hope you can convince Sergio to come home. I’ve been calling the house phone and his personal phone so many damn times I’ve lost track. Worst of all, he hasn’t responded to any of them! I didn’t even say a word when he exploded at me about getting involved in his private matters. I stepped aside because I thought it would be right to just let him cool off in time. But then he says he isn’t ready to come home just yet, so I give him even more space and time. In our situation, a worked-up boyfriend and equally worked-up girlfriend in one vicinity is recipe for disaster. But isn’t a month enough time to have sorted sort this all out? I mean, I know he wants everything his way but is going rampant around Madrid and leaving his family a real way to deal with his emotional problems? If he keeps concentrating on all these problems, he is going to start up a vicious cycle and with the baby here, I simply can’t. I can’t do this without him. Please, Cristiano, I know you know where he is. I am begging you, bring him home to me. Please. Thank you. I know we haven’t see eye to eye but I have run out of options. Once again, thank you!_ ”

By the end of the message, Cristiano knows she’s been withholding her sobbing and wailing just enough to get out what she has to say. Cristiano wanted – for a long time – Pilar to feel the pain he felt the night she barged into his home and harassed him for being with Sergio. But as the tables have turned, as time promised him, he felt not only immense pity for her but serious disappointment in himself for being so insensitive. It is truly she who has to deal with most of Sergio’s drama or at least the more horrible side of it. The worst Cristiano was shouldered with were some petty arguments between them. This right here, this was next level.

With the new problem came new insight: Pilar had no control, and that’s all she ever wanted, even in the smallest quantity. Whatever terrible deeds Sergio did, she turned a blind eye to them or blamed others for the mere fact that her own submission was the only way she could tame him. Hold him accountable and he’d scurry off. Not even her last resort tactic of pregnancy could domesticate him for long, so she stuck to being a kiss-ass. What a miserable lifestyle she set herself up for, Cristiano thought

But he’d be helplessly miserable as well if he allowed for her mistreatment to elongate. He could tell her throat was dried and had grown sore from her loud cries, because it hadn’t improved much by the time Cristiano called her an hour or so later. “Hello?” she croaked and wiped at her cheeks as if he could see. He could hear the pain loud and clear.

“Hi, Pilar” he saluted awkwardly and peered at the floor. She had once declared him a home wrecker, someone who had sparked an abnormality in her life. She had the gall to storm into his home and forbid him something he loved, as if he was no more than a child to her. Now she was asking him to fix everything for her. _Didn't I, like, 'destroy' your life_ , he wants to ask. As the upsetting thought manifested, he clutched the phone tighter and tighter, and he swore it could snap in half right there. Part of him wanted to slap her in the face with the painful irony and just hang up, throw this whole situation out of his life. But his innate politeness won over in the end as it so typically did. Thus, he asked “Are you alright?”

It was a stupid question, really. With that earful she gave him, Cristiano knew she was worlds away from even remotely decent. She said nothing but sniffled and huffed loudly. Cristiano could imagine her surrounded by a bed of tissues, her blue eyes now swollen and red. “Oh god” she moaned “I.. I didn’t mean to run him off, I swear. I didn’t, I didn’t know he would leave and abandon me-“

“Pilar, it is okay” he shrugged to no one in particular and really just wanted her to stop bawling. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. Or _cry anymore_. I can assure you, this will get sorted out” he told her. After a few occasional spurts, her whines ceased. She sucked in a deep breath and gripped the phone as if she was falling. “Are you sure?”

No matter who was at fault, an innocent child’s future hung loosely in the balance and he wouldn’t use it to some sadistic advantage, like the child’s mother had. Cristiano ran unsteady fingers over the black satin sheets and looked at the dresser mirror in front of him. He looked certain. He felt certain. He can fix this. He _would_ fix this. He was _sure._

After his conversation with Pilar, he makes two calls to two separate people.

                                                                                             //

Sergio sat in a particularly dark section of the club. He watched carefully the broad, dark-haired men with tight shirts for one desirable in particular. Cristiano promised he’d be here early enough to walk in with him at the door but outside had grown too cold, and Sergio ended up going alone as usual. Just as he prepared to give his attention to some frisky blonde college student, in he walked. “ _Dios mio_ , fina-fucking-ly” he exhaled but his happiness was washed immediately by the sight of Cristiano’s unknown companion.

He flashed Sergio a toothy grin and batted his long lashes. Their hands were linked and Sergio had to hand off his drink to the blondie in fear he’d throw it the pair’s faces. Sergio leaned back and returned the grin, hoping his gaze would cut through his damn brain. Cristiano seemed uneasy but ignored the discomfort. “Sergio” he begun “I’d like you to meet Gregory, Gregory van der Wiel” The boy waved at him, but Sergio was too offended to wave back.

“Have I seen you before?”

Gregory thought for a moment “I don’t think so” he giggled

“You do porn or something?-”

“Oh, Greg!” Cris quickly interjected “Didn’t you say you had to use the bathroom while we were on the road? You should go use it and when you come back, we can get this party started. Sound good?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back before you know it, babe” he smiled and blessed Cris with a light kiss on the cheek. Sergio nearly gagged. As the youngster skidded off to the bathroom and Cris sat down aside his estranged flame, Sergio mustered up a chuckle. It was laced more so with mockery than actual hilarity. “You like ‘em black, huh?”

“Oh, shut the hell up Sergio”

“Okay. But while I shut the hell up, why don’t you explain where you found this jailbait?”

“I think I should ask you the same” Cristiano said while swirling his drink, noticing the flirtatious blondie practically molesting Sergio on the club’s leather couch. An uneasy silence dragged on and it seemed like eons before Sergio finally spoke. “He’s just some whore” he whispers to Cristiano. Cristiano nods into the class, though it’s clear he isn’t fully bought. Sergio coughs loudly to draw his attention back. “So? Where did you find _Greg_?” he asks teasingly. Cris downs his drink and puts it on the table. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, the subject of Sergio’s ridicule reappeared. “Sorry to keep you guys waiting. There was, like, serious drama going on over there. Someone got sliced with a bottle and – It was just crazy!” he laughed.

“So fucking crazy, right, Cris?” Sergio mocks. Cristiano shoots him a nasty glare and allows Greg to drag him to dancefloor. In the shadows of the section, Sergio relaxes and laughs. He couldn’t even get Cris to tap his foot at home. What the hell did Greg think he was doing? It’d only be a matter of time before Cris claws his way from the crowd and back to him.

Except, a matter of time comes and to Sergio’s disbelief, Cristiano starts to move. And with rhythm! He even seems to be enjoying it, nuzzling Greg’s neck and taking the youngster’s hips in his hands while they moved. After a while, Sergio grows too upset to watch the pair any further. He shoves the blonde off of him and makes his way for the front door. He knew he shouldn’t have the stayed the moment he saw Greg. Why did he? This was all his fault. _No, it wasn’t_ , he thought. It was Cristiano’s!

In the stiff inaudibility of his car, he gripped the wheel and screamed. A few onlookers glimpsed at the enraged man but the cold air fogged up his window, hiding him from public detection. At least they’d be unable to harass him if they didn’t know it was Sergio Ramos, great Real player. Sergio Ramos, on the verge of the greatest meltdown in his vehicle. 


	4. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sergio's honesty.

When the hundredth song stopped blaring, Cristiano stumbled exhaustedly to the couch. He knew Sergio well enough to strike the right nerves. Do the one thing Sergio had been begging him to do with an absolute stranger in front of his face? That’ll certainly do. And he was right. On his way over, he saw that the disgruntled blonde was alone and he told Cris that Sergio suddenly stormed out. He bids Greg a farewell and takes a cab back home.

Of course, Greg had been in on the whole thing. A bored 20-something year old would do anything that didn’t involve his college work, this Cristiano now knew. He stepped out of the cab and walked up the hill to the gate in wait of a sound sleep. Instead, he found Sergio on his steps, hands clasped together and not uttering a peep. His mind raced but he just sucked his teeth and approached him. When he still said nothing, Cristiano took a seat beside him and frowned

“Sergio, man, go home, home to Pilar. I know that this may seem shallow and heartless and that’s fine. You’re allowed to feel what you do, but please, this has all got to stop. What we have going on, it’s hurting people. Pilar, man, she needs you so much more than I could ever. She’s raising your kid, Sergio, do you understand that? And I, I’m – _we’re_ getting older. Don’t you think it’s time we found someone serious instead of running these childish games? As time goes on, this thing between us seems more and more ridiculous. So many twists and too many turns. It’s all crazy. I mean, you are a great man but you deserve more than this. You deserve so much more than this. I know you love her and miss her. Don’t act like you don’t. She really wants you back. All I can ask is that you return to her and that we remain as friends, and not that _other_ thing.”

Sergio focused on the concrete beneath him and remained silent through the entire speech. What could he say? All he can do is turn and look Cristiano in his eye and shake his head sullenly. He pinched his nose bridge in a dire attempt to stall any budding tears. Tears never helped anyone, and the last thing he needed was Cris reaching out to calm him as he always fucking did. He knew Cristiano was right. But he also knew that several years ago, Cristiano told him nothing would keep them apart. He promised that no matter what happened they would be together, and if the two of them wanted this bad enough, they’d make sacrifices for it.

And here he was before him, trying to strip every promise from his memory as if they held no true meaning in the first place. Surprisingly, that didn’t matter the most to him. “What if I don’t want to go back?” he tested “What if I want this to be my new home?”

“Sergio, you are talking nonsense. You are just angry”

“Why does it have to be nonsense?” he shouted. Cristiano put a hand on his chest and tried to soothe him, begging him to keep his voice down. Sergio pushed him away. As the tears started, he didn’t try to stop them. How many more tears would Cristiano be forced to clean up before all of this ended? “What if I don’t even love Pilar? What if I love you?”

“You got her pregnant”

“Pregnancy means nothing! She can bear ten of my children and I would love her no more than I already don’t!”

Cristiano looked at him as if he was insane. “Then why did you impregnate her, you dumbass? Do you understand the power of parenthood? What it holds? Clearly not”

“Ugh, that isn’t even the point”

“It kind of is, Sergio”

Sergio looked up at the sky as if it held answers and let the tears fall gracelessly down each cheek. “Look, Cris” he muttered, voice beginning to crack “If a man has a perfect career, if he has the perfect family, if he has a perfect home, he can’t be ridiculed. No one can ridicule me with a career, a child, a big ass house, and beautiful _girlfriend_ by my side. I know I am not the brightest sometimes, but I’m also not the dumbest. I am not stupid enough to open my mouth and let _one_ word take away _everything_! I’ve worked too damn hard to get where I am, and refused my deepest, darkest wish to build up an empire, a legacy!” he screamed.

He wipes at his eyes but it isn’t of much good. His cheeks were already drenched and beads of sweat were gathering at his forehead “But it hurts so fucking bad on the inside, okay? As time goes on, my soul, it rots more and more as this lie deepens. It hurts that I can’t escape myself or do what I truly want. Pilar, the baby, they aren’t what I want. They just… Aren’t! That’s why I ditched them both" he grumbled

"And didn’t even bat a fucking eyelash”

Cristiano went numb. “Sergio…”

“This is all her fault!”

“It’s not, Sergio. She just wants you back. She needs you”

“Oh, she needs me?” he roared “You know what? I have a question for _you_ , Mr. Aveiro. What would you need more?” he turned to him “A deadbeat but truthful man or an indifferent, fraudulent patriarch that cares not one ounce for his family?”

“You’re not being fair”

“Life was never fair”

“And your child has to suffer because of your attempt to be _perfect_? You aren’t perfect. No one is! But you are selfish”

Sergio scoffs “Says the man who continued to see me after he got into a ‘serious’ relationship with a woman he ‘loved’" he mocks "Can you spell joke? I can! I-R-I-N-A”

Cristiano’s heart clenches and his face reddens. He simply can’t believe he is hearing this, and from Sergio of all people! He wants to punch him, kick him, and hurl him over the gate. But he composes himself to the best extent he can and exhales deeply. “I just don’t think your son should have to suffer!” Cristiano threw out “If you don’t care about Pilar, at least spare the child the sadness for God’s sake. Have enough heart to do that!”

Sergio, equally red in the face and in a state of disarray, stilled himself and stared at Cristiano. After a couple of minutes, he seemed to finally understand the advice and nodded. “I’ll spare the baby then” he whispers “Maybe, just, maybe I’ll spare them _both_ ”.

Cristiano hugs him and nods happily. “Yes, Sergio, please. Thank you”.

Sergio is the first to break from the hug and eyes Cristiano carefully once more, using a calloused thumb to trace the outline of the plump lips he had grown so fond of. Then he made his way up and tickled Cris’s nose, before turning to those beautifully dark eyes that could stop his heart if they peered hard enough. He leaned in and kissed him tenderly. Eventually, he muttered “You probably aren’t going to see me ever again after tonight”

Cristiano watches him closely and frowns “I know”

“ _Ever_ , Cris”

“I’ll see you at our games, fool”

Sergio pulled a face but shrugged. “Yeah,” he murmurs unsurely and leaned in for another passionate kiss, finding his way to Cristiano’s neck. Cristiano’s hands are resisting but its efforts to push Ramos away were all for naught because before his beautiful dark eyes can even blink, a tattooed body was above his and a pile of clothes were pooled at his bedside. Lips crashed against his and bit at his own until they were red and throbbing. He shuts his eyes and lets the beautiful noise of an eager body to comfort him, as well as the distinct sound of unraveling rubber.

“I’ll miss you, Cristiano”

Cris keeps his eyes closed but nods understandably. “I’ll miss you too, Sergio”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been listening to a lot of Kali Uchis' songs lately. It's weird to stay some of those songs inspire these because her music is so calm yet these scenes are so hostile lmao

**Author's Note:**

> "Grow a pair" - American saying which means "Be brave"; the "pair" refers to a man's testicles, which releases the hormone testosterone. Testosterone is believed to be key to bravery because of its influence on a male's overall masculinity.


End file.
